We Tried 7 of the Summer's Biggest Makeup Trends

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It’s 2018 and in my opinion, makeup trends are a thing of the past. I’ve had the unique perspective of covering them both before the birth of Instagram (let's call it BIE...Before the Instagram Era) and after (IE... Instagram Era) and I can confidently say that the social media platform has, in addition to bringing terms like FOMO and hashtags into our daily lexicon, caused the demise of makeup trends as we know it. The days of magazines telling you that "Fall is about playing with texture" and “this season's statement-making lip color is a vibrant blend of pink and purple” — both lines I've written at some point over my nine years here at Allure — are over. A trend that debuted at spring fashion shows in September can't possibly stay in our collective consciousness until April or May. On Instagram, makeup trends have a shelf life of a month or two — sometimes half a year if it’s really popular (see: mermaid beauty and rose gold everything). Add that to the fact that makeup artists on IG are constantly creating new looks and trying out new products (because new lines and collections launch every single damn day), there's no way you can get everyone on the same page about wearing one shade of eyeliner for a full three months of the year. (And honestly, who would want that anyway?)
That's not to say that I think the makeup we see backstage at Fashion Week isn't important. It provides us with inspiration and introduces us to new ideas, whether you’re a young makeup artist working on an editorial shoot, a makeup brand designing a new palette, or just a normal person trying to figure out what to wear on your face for your next formal event. The makeup looks we see backstage are more of a suggestion than a credo. Which is exactly what we've done with the "trends" we saw backstage at the spring/summer 2018 runway shows. We selected the biggest shadow, liner, blush, and lipstick moments of the season and asked makeup artist Grace Ahn and photographer Christine Hahn to reinterpret them for us in their own fresh, easy, and utterly cool way. No one's telling you that you have to wear yellow eye shadow or red-hot blush this summer. But after scrolling through these beautiful images, we have a feeling you might be convinced to give them a go.

Shades of Neon

Stoplight red, traffic-cone orange, hi-vis pink — makeup artists consistently chose blindingly bright shades for the eyes and lips. And while these types of colors usually warn us to "proceed with caution," the minute we saw these electric hues, we were ready to swipe them on with abandon.

Which is kind of what Ahn did when creating this look. Using the orange shade in the Kryolan Aqua UV-Dayglow Palette and a wide, flat shadow brush, she spread the matte powder across the model's lids starting right at the inner corners, over the mobile eyelid, and stopping when she reached the tail ends of the brows. Sure, she cleaned up the edges a bit, but this shadow looks more striking because of how nonchalant it feels.

Cleopatra Liner

People have been playing around with black eyeliner since the ancient Egyptians and they're not about to stop anytime soon. What made the spring/summer black liner iterations special, however, was that we saw makeup artists actually referencing the first wearers of liner by tracing models' eyes in inky-black kohl and stretching cat eyes to the extreme.

What really makes this look unique is the fact the liner wraps around the entire eye. Using Troy Surratt Auto-Graphique Eyeliner, Ahn traced both top and bottom lashes and connected the two lines at both the inner and outer corners, in essence creating two wings. Adding even more intensity is the fact Ahn added black along the waterlines as well.

Hot Cheeks

Like so many things that have happened in fashion and beauty over the past 12 months, you can thank Rihanna for this one. Here's what happened: At her Fenty x Puma spring 2018 show — the first show where Fenty Beauty was used backstage — RiRi sent models down the runway with metallic pink, coral, and purple blush that stretched from their temples down to their cheeks in an exaggerated "C" shape (or as beauty nerds call it, "draping"). "Highlighter doesn't have to be flesh tone," makeup artist Hector Espinal said at the show. And everyone seemed to be in agreement about that because we then saw it for the next three weeks at shows like Area NYC, Valentino, Kenzo, and Giorgio Armani.

For this look, Ahn swapped out shimmery, cool colors for matte, warm tones of red and orange, dusting the orange powder (M.A.C. Blush in Loudspeaker) around the temples and the red powder along the cheekbones (M.A.C. Blush in Frankly Scarlet). "In terms of placement I use the red like a contour and the orange like a highlight," Ahn explains.

Rhinestones as Makeup

It's no wonder everyone backstage at the spring 2018 shows was scrambling to download the Kirakira app (the iOS app that amps up the twinkle and shine while you're taking an iPhone video) — there were sparkly crystals everywhere: In the hair, on the eyes, across the cheeks, covering the lips. You name it, rhinestones were glued to it.

In the above image, Ahn used Swarovski crystals in place of eyeliner, adhering them along the top and bottom lash lines with eyelash glue, and placing a single stone at the inner corners to really add some oomph to the look. "Not only does that crystal in the inner corners look pretty, but it also brings focus to the eyes and brightens up the whole area," Ahn explains.

Slick Lips

It's baaaaaaack. With better technology allowing for makeup companies to create more luxurious, non-goopy lip glosses and innovative oil-based lipstick formulas, shiny lips are making a slow and steady comeback after years of people obsessing over super-matte mouths. And there's no right or wrong way to wear the look. Pair it with eye shadow or have it be your single makeup statement like Ahn chose to do for the photo above. And while most of the glossy lips we saw on the runways were deep, dramatic shades of plum and burgundy, I love the idea of bare lips drenched in crystal-clear shine during the summer. Ahn broke out the makeup artist-favorite M.A.C. Clear Lipglass and painted it onto the lips with a flat, synthetic brush. Want to bring gloss back into your makeup bag? Then check out our extensive list of the best new lip gloss formulas recommended by the pros.

Sunrise Eyes

While we saw yellow eye shadow at a few runway shows last season (the color popped up at Fenty x Puma, Self Portrait, Anteprima, and Pam Hogg), this "trend" is more based on the fact that variations of lemon have appeared in so many eye shadow palettes over the past few months, from brands like Colourpop, Huda Beauty, and even Maybelline New York with their Lemonade Craze launch. And every single Allure editor is here for it.

Since we've seen so many matte yellow looks, Ahn wanted to change things up and go with a high-shine finish. First, she pressed a now-discontinued yellow shadow from Dior (Diorshow Mono in #545 Sunny) on top of the model's lids with a flat eye shadow brush, then applying more with her fingertip in areas that needed more pigment. "This exact shade is a slightly more pastel shade of yellow," Ahn says when asked about the notion that someone with yellow undertones in their skin can't wear yellow eye shadow. "And because of that, it doesn't make the skin look sallow, instead, it has a brightening effect." Next, she coated the lashes with black mascara (Dior Pump 'N Volume to be exact) and topped it all off with a layer of the YSL Beauty Eye Gloss Smudger.

Slashes of Silver

Normally associated with the cooler months and winter holidays, silver is an unexpected metallic for the summer months, especially when it's free of chunky or obvious glitter. And when worn with subtle pink cheeks and lips and easy hair, silver can look just as sexy as the warmest, most smoldering bronze or copper shadow.

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